14 June 2017

The hidden cost of boarding school
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In her response to Nicholas Tucker’s review of Alex Renton’s new book, Stiff Upper Lip: Secrets, Crimes and the Schooling of a Ruling Class (Books, 27 May), Susan Rollins is right to warn against making generalisations (Letters, 10 June).

However, I would urge any parents thinking of sending very young children (7-12) to boarding school to read Joy Schaverien’s book, Boarding School Syndrome: The Psychological Trauma of the “Privileged” Child (2015). This is based on the author’s clinical experience as a psychoanalyst and her analysis of case studies demonstrates how boarding school may well damage those whom it is intended to reward.